Europe sent a powerful symbol of solidarity Ukraine On Friday, as Brussels backed Kyiv’s bid for EU candidate status, even Russia shelled Ukrainian cities and cut gas supplies to the West. With the support of the European Commission, Ukraine can now be added to the list of countries aspiring for EU membership as early as next week, when member state leaders meet at their Brussels summit.
All 27 EU leaders would have to agree to the candidacy, but the heads of the EU’s biggest members – France, Germany and Italy – gave their full support to the idea when they visited the war-torn suburb on Thursday. Why Kyiv? Then on Friday, the European Commission gave the executive’s formal endorsement of the bid, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made her position clear by wearing a flashy jacket in Ukraine’s national colors.
“We all know that Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective. We want them to be with us for the European dream,” she said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately hailed the decision as “the first step on the EU membership path” that will certainly bring our victory closer. He thanked von der Leyen for the commission’s “historic decision” and said he expected EU leaders to give Ukraine a “positive outcome” at the June 23-24 summit.
As Brussels celebrates its success, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – whose country has left the European Union – returned to Kyiv for his second visit after Russia’s February 24 invasion.
“The many days of this war have proved that Great Britain’s support for Ukraine is firm and resolute,” Zelensky wrote on social media. Johnson’s office tweeted a photo of the Ukrainian leader meeting the prime minister, with a pile of books and paperwork under one arm.
“My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately win,” Johnson said.
According to Downing Street, Johnson offered to launch a major training campaign for Ukrainian forces, to train 10,000 troops every 120 days and to “change the equation of war”. Each Ukrainian soldier will spend three weeks on a British training course, learning combat tactics, basic medical skills, cyber security and counter-explosive tactics.
Russia responded to Brussels’ decision with disdain, accusing the West of “manipulating” Ukraine with a promise of reunification.
Russian bombing
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine “does not seem to have a bright future, for some reason, despite the promises being more and more sweet and attractive”.
Once Ukraine joins the list of EU candidates – along with many countries in the western Balkans – it may still take years to meet all formal membership requirements, even if Kyiv prevails in the war.
“Yes, Ukraine should be welcomed as a candidate country – it is based on the understanding that good work has been done but important work remains to be done,” von der Leyen said.
And meanwhile, the fighting continues, with Russian forces bombing Ukrainian pockets of resistance in frontline Severodnetsk, including civilians hiding in a chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city.
And Moscow has increased pressure on the Western allies, sharply reducing the flow of natural gas in its pipelines to Western Europe, raising energy prices. France’s network provider said it had not received any Russian gas by pipeline from Germany since June 15, and Italy’s Eni said it expected Russian firm Gazprom to cut its supply in half on Friday. Several European countries, including Italy and Germany, are highly dependent on Russian gas for their energy needs and with Ukraine as the western side, Moscow is cutting supplies.
‘Very worrying’
Berlin and Rome have rejected Russia’s argument that technical issues caused a drop in supplies, arguing that state-owned Gazprom’s move is political. But Western Europe is reeling in a heat wave and energy prices are already on the rise, prompting inflation and industrial action in many economies.
The situation, of course, is dire in Ukraine itself, where Russian troops have occupied a region of the country’s south and east, including most of the Donbass region, during the 113-day war.
“The humanitarian situation in Ukraine – particularly in the eastern Donbass – is extremely dangerous and is deteriorating rapidly,” the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said. The statement said the situation is “particularly worrying” in and around Severodnetsk – where bloody fighting has been going on for weeks.
Severodonetsk is in the Lugansk region, where Governor Sergei Gede called for a ceasefire, saying hundreds of civilians were trapped at the Azot chemical plant that surrounded the city.
“It is now impossible and physically dangerous to exit the plant because of the constant shelling and fighting. The shelter houses 568 people, including 38 children.
‘God’s Will’
Gade said earlier this week that there were about 10,000 civilians left in the city, which is mostly controlled by the Russian military.
In the Donbas village of Admievka, near the city of Sloviask, a community of Orthodox nuns have seen a rocket hole detonate in the wall of their well-maintained garden. Under almost constant bombardment by the Russian military, Sister Anastassi and a group of other black-clad nuns and pilgrims live day in, day out, praying for deliverance.
“We are all alive, yes. No one has left. This is our home,” she said quietly, her face covered with a black veil, as shells crashed into the distance. In the help of, trust in the help of all the saints and the Holy Virgin. This is our home, we have nowhere else to go.”
The local governor said at least two people were killed and 20 wounded in a Russian attack on a residential area in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv.
Separately, Zelensky announced an end to the visa-free travel that Russian citizens, many of whom have Ukrainian relatives, have enjoyed since Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
(Written by Dave Clark with Anna Malpass in Donbass)
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